The present invention relates to vehicle seating and in particular to a cargo shelf which extends from a vehicle seat for carrying and retaining cargo which is not desirable to place on either the vehicle seat or on the vehicle floor.
Most vehicle drivers do not like to carry items such as milk jugs, ice bags, potted plants, etc. on a vehicle seat because they can spill or leak and damage the seat cover. In addition, it is not desirable to carry these items unrestrained on a vehicle floor. A potted plant may tip over and spill dirt. A milk jug can leak if not tightly sealed and the condensation on the jug may pickup dirt and debris from the vehicle floor. Generally, there is no adequate place to carry and retain such cargo within the vehicle interior. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an extendible cargo shelf on a vehicle seat that can be used to support such objects above the vehicle floor where they will not collect dirt. In addition, the cargo is restrained so that it cannot move about the vehicle interior or tip over. The cargo shelf also avoids the need to place the objects on the seat upholstery.
The cargo shelf is stored beneath the seat cushion and is extendible from the cushion, typically forward, for placement of cargo thereon. Preferably, the support shelf has an upright wall at the distal, or extended, end to assist in retaining cargo upright on the shelf. To enable wider objects such as a briefcase to be carried on the shelf, the shelf preferably has no sidewalls. This enables the briefcase to be placed on the shelf between the upright end wall and the seat cushion and extend laterally beyond the side edges of the shelf.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.